Outdoor Party Ideas

There's no better way to celebrate a community vegetable garden than with family, friends, and these unforgettable seasonal dishes.

Add a cheerful touch to outdoor drinks with colorful paper butterflies.

Give your outdoor table a laid-back feel with a nautical-inspired tablecloth, matching red napkins, and simple centerpieces.

Paper lanterns don't need to have lights in them to signal an instant party feel. String them above the deck as a festive decoration instead.

Set up a low table and colorful plastic chairs by the pool so guests can enjoy small bites and cocktails by the water.

For a prettier and more accessible tabletop at your next barbecue or picnic, decant condiments from their original packaging into small dishes, ramekins, or even mismatched teacups. Arrange them, along with homemade dips, salsas, and sauces, down the table, making sure each diner has everything within reach.

For a summer dinner, place the picnic table underneath the shade of some trees. A white, full-length tablecloth and striped seat covers will give your table setting a fresh but rustic feel.

Bars and buffet tables must be adequately lighted, but they're often located far from electrical outlets. An easy, inexpensive solution is to gather clear apothecary bottles and fill them with lamp oil and wicks. Arrange the bottles under a large hurricane for protection. We set these on a sturdy glass cake stand.

These starry s'more sticks add a magical touch to an evening campfire.

Hydrangeas snipped from the garden can echo blue linens that dress your outdoor table. Try mixing formal and everyday platters and serving bowls, flanked by sterling silver, to create an elegant counterpoint to hearty offerings.

Multiple beverage stations help ensure that guests can get a refill without waiting. Galvanized tubs, colorful enamel buckets, and planters work perfectly. Place an assortment of drinks in each bin if they're destined for different locations throughout the yard. Or fill each container with a single type, such as imported beer, white wine, or bottled water. With ribbon, tether an opener to a handle of each bin; drape a dish towel nearby to take care of condensation.

Turn kids' metal beach buckets into custom centerpieces by painting them in bright colors.

With a few snips and folds, and a little imagination, you can turn humble paper bags into party-perfect decorations.

Cocktails at sundown are more memorable when you supplement the waning daylight with Asian-inspired lanterns. These tabletop ones consist of colorful sheets of vellum paper sandwiching tall votive candles in glass holders; chopsticks hold the paper in place.

Consider bright and bold hues for the table that play up the summer sunset. Martha's Asian lanterns lend romance even when they're not lit.

Here's a great way to chill beverages in time for an impromptu backyard barbecue. Place wine or other bottles in a bucket; add a layer of ice, followed by a layer of salt (coarse or table); repeat until you almost reach the top. Fill the bucket with cold water to just below the ice line. The water in the ice bucket will be colder than normal, chilling the libations in less than 10 minutes.

Enjoy candlelight even on breezy evenings by using hurricane lanterns or jam jars to shield the flames.

Instead of making a marinade with rosemary for grilling, place the herb right on the coals. The smoke enhances food in the same way burning wood chips does. Once the coals are uniformly gray and ashy, loosely cover them with fresh rosemary branches (be careful not to burn your hands). Almost any meat or vegetable will benefit from this savory smoking.